Posterboard
by MakeshiftParadox
Summary: Jade has trouble fully getting over her break-up with Beck, and begins to fall into depression. Tori proceeds to help, and they eventually bond. Is that bond scotchtape or superglue? Jori/brief Bade
1. Momma Said Knock U Out

Jade looked down into the black nothingness that was her cup of coffee. The lukewarm liquid swilled, spun to create a small little whirlpool as she moved the cup around in her hand. She peered back down at her laptop, a raging headache clouding her thoughts. Because of another 'Forget About Beck' session of hers last night, code for drinking until you're retarded, she hadn't gotten a chance to finish the screenplay she needed to write for her screenwriting class. A hangover prevented her from getting much done, and the paper was due next period. She mentally facepalmed herself, regretting acting so irresponsibly.

She looked up as she heard footsteps walking past her. She recognized the light brown hair swishing behind the tall figure the footsteps belonged to.

Tori Vega walked toward the vending machines in the corner. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the money she would be using to buy herself a Peppy Cola. Jade watched as the Latina bent over to pick up the result of her transaction. She couldn't help but notice how attractive Vega looked from 'certain angles'.

Jade had been looking at Tori in this fashion since her and Beck's relationship had began falling apart at the seams. Ugh, the break-up. She hated thinking about the break-up. It did nothing but make her depressed, and seriously crave a shot of the expensive Whiskey in her father's alcohol cabinet. But anyway, she had always found Tori a little attractive. Sexy, even. She was just ashamed of thinking it. She was supposed to hate the girl. She just didn't know why.

She had contemplated asking Vega to hang out once, just to get her mind off Beck, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Jade hated the idea of rejection at this point, and knew she would have to endure plenty of stares of disbelief and curiousity if she did, so she decided against it. She just tripped Tori on her way leaving the lunchtable instead.

Jade was one of those people still stuck in a 'playground mentality'. You know, those people who constantly picked on and bothered their crushes just to get their attention. It didn't matter how Tori thought of Jade, as long as she was thinking of her.

Tori startled Jade by plopping down beside her in the corner of the somewhat empty hallway. Right now was a free period, and it was a nice day, so most students were either outside chilling or inside working. Obviously, Jade was doing the latter. Tori just came in for a drink.

"What's wrong, Jade? You look more irritable than normal." Tori observed.

"Leave. Me. Alone, Vega. Can't you see I'm trying to work here?" Jade bared her teeth as she lashed out at Tori, she wasn't in the mood to bear her happy-go-luckyness today. She seriously needed to get shit done.

"Sorry," Tori looked downcast, "I was just wondering what was wrong. Maybe I could cheer you up."

Jade thought for a second about what answer she could give to the girl. She concluded that the only plausible answer was everything, everything was wrong. "**Everything** is wrong, Vega. Now, can you _please_ go and bother someone else?"

"Wait," Tori prepared to ask Jade a question.

"What?" Jade whined, glaring at Tori.

"Is it about Beck? I know you must still be hurting, and I just wanted you to know that you can talk to me anytime you need to." Tori wrapped her arms around Jade and pulled her in for a hug.

Jade hesitated before slugging Tori in her hip. She then closed her laptop, got up, and stomped away.

Tori just sat there, crying from the pain, holding her hip, and regretting being so stupid as to try and comfort Jade. The girl was like a rabid animal. She could look cute in a moment of weakness, but bite when you least expected it. Then, you just feel stupid, but you still feel slightly sorry for the creature.

**Author's Note:**** So, hope you liked it? This isn't a one-shot by the way, not by a long shot. Also, sorry if it's kinda hard to follow, I didn't plan for this chapter much. I lost my original document of it and had to start over from scratch. So, yeah. Constructive criticism always welcome, please. The beginning of this story is kinda slow-going, sorry, I want the evolution of their relationship to be as realistic as possible. Chapters will come fast and loose as I write and edit them. It's spring break and I'm practically a hermit for the time being, so yeah. Anyways, enough of my pedantic (right usage?) rambling. Thanks for reading. **

_Disclaimer so that Dan Schneider won't get his panties in a pretzel:_ I don't, by any means, own Victorious. Totally wish I did though, the things that would happen on that show, mmm.


	2. In Soviet Russia, Vodka Drinks Jade

As Jade walked out into the Hollywood Arts parking lot, she thought about what she had done to Tori earlier that day. Surprisingly, she felt kind of guilty. She noted this and scoffed aloud at the thought. _Pshhh... I'm Jade West, I don't know the meaning of the word guilty. _Though, as much as she tried to keep herself from thinking about the event, she couldn't help but feel slight regret over how she had treated her crush.

Tori's side was still sore as she walked out to meet Trina in the parking lot. She looked across the lot to see Jade West climbing into her black BMW. Her side throbbed at just the sight of the evil goth girl. Tori still couldn't believe that Jade had punched her earlier. She knew that the girl had a temper, but she never thought that she would resort to violence over something so trivial. Tori had assumed that Jade was all bark and no bite, but apparently she was wrong. A part of her was moderately wazzed off at Jade, while another part felt sad that after all of the developments in their relationship, Jade didn't feel any different about Tori since their first interaction.

_The things we laid do not amount to much.  
Made of abandoned wood, loose stones, and such._

_This revolution, baby, proves who you work for lately._

Jade laid in her bed, closing her eyes as she listened to the song blasting from her Pearpod dock. Her father was at work, her stepmother was at the spa, and her brother was at baseball practice. She had the entire house to herself, millions of possibilities, yet she couldn't think of anything to do. For once in her life, her teachers hadn't assigned homework, and she hadn't thought of any ideas for a new screenplay lately. Sikowitz hadn't chosen her for his latest play, so she had no rehearsals to go to. So she was presented with a situation that had rarely been apparent in her life. She was bored. She hated to think it, but she was.

When Beck and Jade had broken up, he took most of their mutual friends with him, including the ones not in their usual gang. The girls, especially. She had no one to hang out with. Andre' and Robbie were usually chilling with Beck (not that she had really considered them anyway). As much as she loved Cat, the girl had been irritating her a lot lately (possibly PMS). That really only left Tori and Sinjin. _Ugh._ _Vega it is._

Jade pulled out her new red Pearphone XT and instructed the virtual assistant software to dial Tori Vega's number. The phone obeyed and dialed Tori's number. Jade sighed as the phone rang. She never thought that she would have to resort to this.

She doubted that Tori would even answer her call after what happened earlier, but it was worth a shot. After the fifth ring Jade prepared to hang up the phone when a familiar voice answered on the other end.

"Hello? Jade?" Tori answered, surprised that Jade had called her. She must be **really** craving some company.

"Vega? Um.. I was wondering... Do you feel like grabbing some ice cream with me?" Jade asked, hoping that her reply would be a positive one. She really didn't want to resort to the cabinet tonight, but she could just hear the bottles whispering faintly in her ears...

"Why would I want to get ice cream with _you_?" Tori hadn't meant to put that much venom in her voice, but Jade deserved it. What the hell was she playing at, anyway, after what she had done?

"I dunno. It's just that you're the only one I could call."

"Well, no."

"No? Why the hell not?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask the throbbing bruise on my side?" Tori then proceeded to hang up and continue working on her Chemistry homework. _God, what the heck possessed her think that I would say yes? _Tori thought to herself. She shook her head and averted her attention toward the paper on her desk.

Jade sighed when she heard the click of Tori hanging up. She should've seen that coming. The goth girl stood up and walked downstairs into her kitchen. She retrieved her father's key from his hiding place and breached his alcohol cabinet. She grabbed a bottle of Vodka and walked upstairs to her room.

"Mr. Vodka, you are my only friend," she said in a Russian accent to amuse herself. She sighed as she locked her bedroom and settled into an all too familiar night of binge drinking.

* * *

**AN: Hoped you liked it. All is same as last time, the disclaimer, criticism, yadda yadda. Thanks for the reviews I got earlier, they inspired me to write some more even though it's like 4am. I'm trying to get this story done before I get distracted by school again. I hope you peeps won't get too tired of me, cuz I'm gonna be updating a lot. Thanks for reading.**

**Edit: Totally forgot to credit for the lyrics in this chapter. The song is Future Foe Scenarios by the Silversun Pickups. If you've never heard them, at least check them out, they're awesome.  
**


	3. 3am

Suffocating. Jade felt the sensation of suffocating and all she could see was darkness. She tried to move, to rescue herself from this unpleasant predicament, but her body was paralyzed. She couldn't move, she couldn't even twitch her fingers.

The panic was starting to envelope her, she couldn't take it. This sensation of vulnerability was driving her crazy. Her breathing became shallower, faster. _God, please not now._ _Not another one._ Jade closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing, coaching herself, trying to prevent the inevitable. The wave of her panic attack was approaching, she just knew it. She attempted to think of something else. Beck? No, it was too painful and just made her more anxious. Her mom? Slightly better, but no. Tori? Perfect.

The girl sat and imagined Tori there, comforting her, helping her. Eventually, her breathing became slower and her body gradually unfroze from its state of paralysis. She opened her eyes... And a pair of bright red orbs were staring back.

"Gahh!" Jade started and fell out of her bed. "Shit!" She already knew she had waken up her family. She quickly hid the bottles of alcohol that littered her room and laid back in her bed. She heard footsteps as they quickly ran down into the basement, her father was frantic.

"Jadelyn! What's wrong? We heard you scream." Her father burst through the door. She noticed that her brother and step-mother were cowering behind, obviously curious about her room, but too afraid to advance in case she lashed out.

"Nothing, Father. Just go back to bed, I had a nightmare." Jade waved her hand away and the cowards that were standing behind her father ran upstairs. Mr. West continued walking in, though, and closed her door.

"Is this about that Beck boy you're dating? Are you pregnant?" Mr. West sat down on Jade's bed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"No! I'm not pregnant. Beck and I aren't even dating anymore, Dad, you know that!" Jade pushed her father's hand off her shoulder and plopped back down. She placed a pillow over her face and wished that her father would leave.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry sweetheart. I totally forgot that you had told me."

"Yeah, well, it's not the first time you've forgotten something important in my life."

"Jadelyn, I'm sorry."

"It's Jade, _Brent_, and whatever. I don't care. Can you please just leave me alone?" Jade turned over on her side so that she was facing the wall.

"Okay, baby, just know that you can talk to me about anything." Mr. West secretly hoped that she wouldn't. He loved Jade, that was his daughter, but he hated talking to her about boy troubles and the such. He never thought that raising a teenaged girl would be so **hard**. The fact that she's **Jade** just makes matters worse.

"Yeah, mmmhmmm. Whatever. Go." Jade pointed toward the door and Mr. West obeyed. _I have someone else I can talk to anyway. _She grabbed her Pearphone and looked at the clock. _3:04am, she's probably asleep. _But Jade found herself dialing the younger Vega's number regardless.

Tori had been sleeping peacefully when her phone abruptly woke her up. The Lady Gaga ringtone played repetitively as she searched for her blue XT.

_I want your love, and I want your revenge.  
You and me could write a bad romance._

Tori finally found her phone and sighed when she saw the caller ID. Jade West. Her archenemy at Hollywood Arts was calling her at 3 in the morning.

"Hello?" Tori said, impatient. She had a big exam in the morning and didn't want Jade to ruin her chances of getting an A.

"Vega? Can I talk to you, please?"

"Sure..." Tori was surprised. Jade sounded like she had been crying.

"I don't have anyone to turn to and I really need some help, I'm going crazy..." Jade couldn't help it. When she heard the other girl's reassuring voice on the line, all of her problems began spilling out. Her issues with the break-up, her family, her drinking problem, the anxiety attacks. She couldn't hold it in anymore, it just felt so good to have someone to talk to. Beck used to be her confidant, but once they broke up, she had to keep her emotions to herself.

By the time they were finished talking, it was 5am and they only had a couple of hours left before they had to get ready for school. Jade felt good to finally release the feelings that she had been holding in. The only thing left inside of her were her feelings for Tori, and that bubble was gradually growing every second she spoke.

"Hey, Vega, it's getting late. You wanna call it a night?" Jade said, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes.

"Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yeah, thanks for talking to me."

"Anytime, Jade. Remember that you can talk to me anytime you need to."

"Alright. Just remember to never speak of this to anyone, or I will have to mutilate you with a pair of scissors."

"Mutilate what?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Okay, good morning Jade."

"Good morning, Tori. Sweet dreams."

* * *

**AN: Welp, I hope you guys enjoyed it. Expect another update sometime later today, as I have no life. The sleep paralysis scene was based upon my own experiences with it, as I have an anxiety disorder and I tend to experience sleep paralysis on a regular basis. Totes not fun. Anyway, my previous statements still stand, yada. Credit goes to Lady Gaga for Bad Romance.  
**


	4. Lazy Eye

Tori was exhausted that morning. It had been impossible for her to sleep after talking to Jade all night. She just stayed awake, thinking, worrying about everything that Jade had told her. Jade had practically spilled her soul to Tori that night, but nothing had changed. When Tori arrived at school that morning, Jade was her typical irritable, moody self. She even got an attitude when Tori said "Hi" to her that morning.

"Hey, good morning, Jade."

"Fuck off, Vega." Jade then proceeded to slam her locker door and walk away.  
Tori just could not catch a break. Having any kind of relationship with the girl was like riding a rollercoaster blindfolded. You didn't know when the dips or twists and turns were coming until they hit you. In the side. Tori remembered that the bruise that Jade had given her was still aching. She decided to go to the nurses office and get some ice or something.

* * *

"Good morning, class!" Sikowitz burst into the room, holding his usual coconut and wearing his usual hippie hobo clothes. He stood in his usual place on stage and began lecturing in his usual way about some acting method. Jade wasn't paying attention, as usual, and today was just a usual day. Or was it? It was. It really was.

Jade couldn't help but look over at Tori through the corner of her eye. The girl was leaning forward in her seat, hanging on Sikowitz's every word. The Latina was wearing skinny jeans, knee-high boots and a low-cut blouse today, Jade couldn't help but notice. A _really_ low cut blouse.

Tori looked over to catch the goth girl staring. Jade tried to recover by coughing and looking away, but she was discovered. Tori made a face at Jade and looked down, wondering what she was staring at. _What is she staring at? Do I have a stain on my shirt or something? Did she flick a booger on me? _Tori shuddered at the memory of when Trina did that to her.

"_What?_" Tori mouthed at Jade, still wondering why the girl had been staring at her. Jade shrugged her shoulders and directed her attention at Sikowitz, though she still wasn't paying much attention until...

"Now, I have an announcement, class. I am directing another play this month and I wanted to know who was interested in being in it."

"Can I star in it?" Jade raised her hand.

"Uh, I think it's time that _**I **_got to star in one of Sikowitz's plays." Andre interjected.

"Why are you talking?" Jade responded, and soon the entire class had joined in on the bickering.

"Quiet! Quiet! Shhh! Shhhh! Hush class!" Sikowitz calmed the class down and got them to shut up. "You all will be picking your parts..." Sikowitz walked over to his desk behind the stage and grabbed a shoebox full of slips of paper, "from my magic box of... roles!"

Sikowitz walked to Andre first and had him pull a slip of paper from the box. Andre read his aloud, "Tommy. Ten year old identical twin brother of Carter."

"Beck. Pick a role." Sikowitz shoved the box in Beck's face.

"Umm.. Carter. Ten year old identical twin brother of Tommy. I guess we're twins." He looked over at Andre.

"Then Momma's got some explainin' to do." Andre crossed his arms and looked at Jade, who was currently selecting her role.

"Nancy Swain, mother of Tommy and Carter, loving wife of Walter Swain."

Sikowitz passed over Robbie with the box, handing it over to Tori. "Oh, uh.. Walter Swain, astronaut, father of Tommy and Carter, doting husband of... Nancy?" Both Tori and Jade made disgusted faces. Well, Jade really just faked hers. "I'll just choose another..." Tori motioned to place her hand in the box when Sikowitz pulled it away.

"No! The box. Has. **Spoken!**" Sikowitz carried the box back to his desk while Tori and Jade sat and sulked.

"I don't want to play her wife!"

"I don't want to play her husband!"

But they shall.

* * *

**AN: Sorry I didn't update twice yesterday as promised, I was actually able to leave the house, but I'm here now! You know the drill, disclaimer, constructive criticism, yadda yadda. Sorry if the quotes from the show aren't extremely accurate, I mostly paraphrased as I haven't seen that episode in a while. Next chapter will be about the rehearsal, Nozu, and such. When it comes to the actual play, I'll be taking some artistic liberties. Anyway, enough of me running my mouth, or hands, or whatever. See ya'll when I see ya. **


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